By Natalie Tendall, KIMT TV
A Co-Op is basically a place to live for those who are retired and who can still live on their own. Residents buy shares of the building and essentially help manage it, but all the maintenance work is done for them, and that’s proving to be a pretty popular idea.Right now the Co-Op is about 90 percent full and that may change after the grand opening
For Ann Kuhlman and her husband the Village Co-Op is providing more than a place to live…it’s also providing some security after being displaced by the 2008 floods.
Kuhlman said, “very traumatic, it’s a grief experience whenever there’s a natural disaster it’s tough but it did a lot of downsizing for us. we had a third of everything we owned that got thrown out.”
But soon they found a place for their remaining items. They put their name down to live in a new senior living place planned to go up in Mason City. However they had one major question for the sales lady.
Kuhlman said, “was this place in the flood plain or not and when she said no, it’s not in the flood plain you can’t get flooded there, I thought ah ha, this is the place for us.”
The project didn’t go anywhere for a while. One of the main sticking points was location.
Some of the neighbors of the current site were concerned the facility would be an eye sore.
Project Manager Shane Wright said, “I don’t think they ever doubted this place was gonna be a great place, there was just some agreement to disagree on where it should be built.”
Kuhlman and others all set to move into the building were following the situation pretty closely.
She said, “at one time I didn’t know what to think but now that I’ve seen the high quality of this place and quality of materials they’ve used, the people who live here, I think we’re an asset to the community.”
Today, it’s a place more than 70 people call home.
Wright said, “it gives them a freer lifestyle really don’t have to shovel, no snow removal we have an underground heated parking.”
Not to mention a wood shop area, work out room and car wash. This place has it all and the trouble with the community seems to be in the past.
Kuhlman said, “they’ve actually said to me quote on quote welcome to the neighborhood.”
Project Manager Shane Wright tells us the Co-Op is essentially like going back to college for a lot of these seniors.
They get to live amongst friends and don’t have to worry about everyday maintenance work.
He said it’s really good for the city too, because it gives them a bigger tax base.
This is a fairly new way to live. There are not even 100 of these Co-Ops in the country. Most of the ones that have been started are based in Minnesota.